1/3/2026, 1:38 AM
![[Image: dd8rnsn-3f0d7905-62c6-4066-9c31-4588d1cb...iHgzqQRbN4]](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/d2b3a0d4-24b8-4179-ad96-7bb8f88cc929/dd8rnsn-3f0d7905-62c6-4066-9c31-4588d1cb077a.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcL2QyYjNhMGQ0LTI0YjgtNDE3OS1hZDk2LTdiYjhmODhjYzkyOVwvZGQ4cm5zbi0zZjBkNzkwNS02MmM2LTQwNjYtOWMzMS00NTg4ZDFjYjA3N2EucG5nIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.sGIeAzj9HJrO3HXW7wAN0K4wShSrvVJW-iHgzqQRbN4)
Queen Merneith had given Mekh much to think about.
After he had been dismissed, the coywolf stalked the perimeter of Skyspear; not so much performing a patrol as he was chewing on his own thoughts. It was a good excuse to move, at any rate. He had spent so much of his life spoiled and lying languid at his Pharaoh's side, Mekh had all but forgotten how to make himself truly useful.
Perhaps it was the near-brush with death that had frightened him into action at last, feeling the chill of Ammit's hungry touch, certain that it was she who awaited him in the afterlife - for how light could the heart of a slave be, removed from his Pharaoh?
Mekh felt a tightness in his chest and he wondered if he had failed Merneith's generous offering of choice. Should he have chosen the path of the mazoi after all? Was it better to aim high and fall, or remain in the place he had always performed his duties best - as a fellahin, with no direction but to see each day through and perform his tasks without fault.
He knew it was pointless to fret, but fret he did.
The noonday sun hung weakly behind a heavy wall of clouds. He could not in good faith speculate, but Mekh couldn't help wondering what the sun-god was up to; was it he who passed judgment upon the world by withdrawing his light, or did Ra now engage in war, with this the result?
As he finished his first lap, the coywolf paused in his rounds as a dark figure approached. He immediately recognized the silhouette as that of Pharaoh; Mekh prostrated himself upon the ground with haste, uttering a reverent
Khaemwaset! Ankh wedja seneb,as he waited for the divine one to pass.
